Senate jobs bill drops SHVERA

The Senate's jobs bill was to be the vehicle for the much-delayed renewal of DISH Network's and DirecTV's licenses to reach 1.7 million people. But after the Senate Finance Committee Thursday morning released a draft of its massive jobs bill containing provisions to renew the law for another five years -- until Dec. 31, 2014 -- the section was stripped out in the afternoon, along with several other tangential riders. They were dropped to make the underlying jobs legislation "more targeted" so it can move more quickly. The provisions would have renewed the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA) which provides satellite providers' ability to import distant TV network affiliates to viewers who can't receive their local affiliates through broadcast or cable service. Satellite companies' right to send these signals to customers were set to expire at the end of 2009. But in December, Congress extended SHVERA by 60 days. The satellite licenses have to be reauthorized by Congress every five years. Congress is running out of time to approve the provisions in the jobs bill. If the licenses expire, about 1.7 rural satellite customers could lose access to programming from the likes of NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX.